It's Not Easy Being a Connor
by DJ Frost
Summary: Title says it all. contains spoilers through episode 1x05.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Terminator. Simple as that.

A/N: OK since I totally loved the last episode and the introduction of Derek Reese I thought I'd try and write something. No idea where this is going but I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1

The first thing he felt when he came to was pain, lots of pain. Not that pain was anything new to him, he had survived worse, but waking up was surprising. He had been shot. He was supposed to be dead. He had felt his last breath leave and welcomed the end. He would finally have peace. He should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

"Reese?" It was her. After joining up in the resistance and fighting with John he learned all about Sarah Connor. Her persistence, her strength, and her courage; But seeing her right now stupid also came to mind.

"I told you to leave me." His throat was dry and his hoarse. "You should have gone after the Russian. The 'Turk' needs to be found."

She came up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "You don't give the orders around here solider." Her voice was stern, every bit like he would have thought of the mother of John Connor. "While your healing we'll do some research, then go after the Russian together. That's an order."

Derek scoffed, and then held his side in pain. "Where's John?"

"He and the Tin Miss are at school. They had a Geometry test."

"How can you let that metal piece of scum near him?" Derek growled. "It's the embodiment of everything that we fight against and your letting it play school with the leader of the resistance?!"

"I'm under no illusions Reese." Sarah kept her voice calm and in control. "This isn't the first time John has sent a Terminator back to protect him and as long as the Tin Miss does her job I'll live with it. Besides," She said getting a faraway look in her eyes, "They've been the only type of family he's had other then me."

Derek had seen her get that look before and it bothered him. It had been when he mentioned Kyle. "Why did you help me?"

This shook her out of her muse and she stared at him. She had an unreadable expression on her face then it was gone and the warrior was back. "Get some rest Reese." She moved towards the door.

_No, that wasn't good enough_. "How did you know Kyle?"

Sarah stopped. She wanted to tell him so bad but… "Cameron has a profile on you boys." She lied easily. "You've helped John in the future and we Connors repay our debts." With that she walked out of the room.

Derek lay back on the bed and swore. John had always had secrets, every great leader did, but he always got the feeling that some of those secrets had involved him and his brother and his conversation with Sarah had enforced those feelings. Now he knew where John got his stubbornness from. Like mother like son.

A/N: so it's kind of short but I already have a few more chapters written. Hoped you liked it so far. Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: don't own T:SCC that simple

A/N: Hey, thanks for the reviews. Here's the next chapter. No Derek but he'll be back. Enjoy…..

Chapter 2

Sarah Connor closed the door to Derek's room and sighed. Their conversation and memories of Kyle were wearing on her emotions but she couldn't let them go yet, she still had one more person to deal with.

Charlie was sitting at the kitchen table, nursing one of the few bottles of alcohol that she had in the house, for medicinal purposes. She stopped in the doorway and just watched him. It had only been a few months for her but Charlie had thought she had been dead for eight years. She felt awful for what she did to him but she had no choice; Right?

He finally noticed her and sat up. "How's he doing?"

"Fine," She said as she sat down across from him, "He finally woke up so that's good."

"Good."

The silence that followed was uncomfortable to say the least. Sarah wished he would just say something. She hated this part of her life. Every time she had left her previous boyfriends without notice that was it, she never saw them again but here he was. He had saved John's uncle without question and she was indebted to him. But she couldn't help thinking of what Cameron would say; that he was a liability.

But he didn't say anything. He just sat there with his bottle and stared at her. Finally the silence was more then she could bear. "I'm sorry." That got a reaction.

"You're sorry?!" Charlie laughed disbelievingly. "That's all you can say?"

"What more do you want from me Charlie; an explanation?"

"Yeah, I don't think that's too much to ask." Sarah stood up and walked towards the sink. "I just saved a man's life that, as far as I can figure, got shot breaking out of jail! What are you into?"

"I can't give you what you want. Even if I did you wouldn't believe me."

"Is this about the robots?" Sarah looked at him sharply. What did he know about the Terminators? Charlie sighed. "I saw your file from the mental hospital Sarah. How you think that robots are going to overtake the world. How John is supposed to be this 'leader of the resistance'. And on top of that, the FBI told me that you killed a man."

"I didn't kill him."

"Tell me what happened then?"

"You wouldn't understand."

Charlie was getting fed up. He didn't believe any of that junk about killer robots but he also didn't believe that she was dangerous. He just wished that she would give him something that would verify his beliefs. "What wouldn't I understand, Sarah?"

"That for 16 years I have been living in constant terror, fighting a war that hasn't begun yet." She leaned against the sink and for the first time Charlie could actually see the underlying exhaustion that now seemed to be a permanent feature on her face. "Since before John was born I have been running from people who have either been trying to kill us, put me in the loony bin or lock me behind bars. I don't have the luxury of hoping people will understand."

Charlie just sat there in shock going over what she said. 6 months he was with her and he had never seen anything to suspect any of this was going on. Before he had a chance to say anything the front door opened, letting in a bickering John and Cameron.

"You just don't do that."

"But she was cheating. The rules have stated that we are to inform the teacher if a student is cheating."

"Yes," explained an exasperated John, "But you don't just do it out loud in the middle of a test."

"Why not?" Sarah shook her head. As if her life wasn't difficult enough.

John and Cameron entered the kitchen, stopping when they saw the EMT. "Hey Charlie."

"Hey, Johnnie." Charlie said giving a strained smile. No matter what they were accused of he had always thought of John like his own son, he was a good kid. But that was just another question unanswered. John had been 15 when they were 'blown up' eight years ago and looking at him right now he hasn't seemed to age a day.

"John, why don't you and Cameron go check on Derek." Sarah said. "But don't get deep." In other word don't tell Derek about their relation. John glared at her but nodded and went into the other room, Cameron not far behind. There was a few moments of silence before Sarah asked the question that had been plaguing her ever since John had brought this man through her door.

"Charlie I have to know if you're going to tell anyone about us being here." Her ex-fiancé stood up and gathered his equipment and headed for the door that John had just disappeared through. "Charlie?"

"I won't say anything right now." He said. "But I expect a full explanation soon or else I go to the FBI." He walked into the other room, Sarah's gaze following him sadly; knowing full well that if he ever tried going to the FBI, Cameron would kill him.

A/N: So there it is. Hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review!!!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own TSCC. Simple as that.

A/N: wow, thank you all for the reviews you guys are awesome. So here's the next chapter hope you enjoy.

**Chapter 3**

By the next day Derek Reese was out of bed and moving around. The EMT had told him to take it easy but he was never one for keeping still, you never knew when a Terminator would show up. Sarah had left an hour ago, saying something about research. She took the Terminator, or Cameron as they called it, with her.

The man from the future shook his head. He still had a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that the Connors were trusting a terminator. And not just trusting it, but naming it. Derek knew that John had a weird life growing up but this took the cake. Last night they were doing homework together; homework!

Derek made his way to the living room where he found young John on his computer. Derek knew Sarah didn't want to leave John alone with him. Not that she thought he was dangerous, but he suspected that there was something she was keeping from him and was afraid that John would tell.

Future John was a steel trap, never let anything out that he didn't want known but young John… Derek had been watching him since the escape two day before. He wasn't battle hardened yet, he's had a tough life but he was just a kid. His still let his emotions get in the way and that was his downfall. If there was anything to find out, it would be now.

"What are you looking at?" John jumped and quickly closing the laptop. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He walked over to the table and sat down next to the young leader.

"No, it's alright." John said taking a deep breath. "Man, you all seem to have a habit of popping up when I least expect it."

"You should pay more attention. One of these days it will be the enemy and you have to be ready." The boy rolled his eyes.

"You sound just like my Mom."

"Well I guess that would be appropriate seeing as how she trained my teacher." They sat in silence after that contemplating what the man from the future had said. Time travel was really screwy.

"So," Derek said clearing his throat, "What are you looking at?" This got the boys attention.

"Uh, nothing. Just writing a paper for school."

"Really?" The older man smiled slightly. The kid wasn't a very good at lying on his feet yet, looks like something they had to work on.

"Yeah," John stood up gathering his books. "Uh, I have to go to the library so... Hey!"

Derek had taken the laptop out of his hands and was about to open it.

"Stop! Don't!" John tried grabbing it out of Reese's hands but he wasn't strong enough. So he said what he thought future him would say. "Give it back, that's an order!" The older man laughed.

"Nice try kid, but not for a few years yet." He opened the laptop and frowned. This was not what he was expecting. "Why are you researching my family?" John had hacked into some files pertaining to the Reese family. On the screen was a picture of them all: toddlers Kyle and Derek standing next to their young parents who were in their early 20's. It was a picture of what a happy family would look like. A family before the war.

Derek looked up at John; the kid looked about ready to bolt. This was getting ridiculous. Derek wanted to know what was going on and he wanted to know now.

"John, you have always kept secrets and that's fine. But if there's something that you're keeping from me about my family I want to know. Now," Derek said standing up, towering over the boy, "How do you know Kyle?"

"What the heck is going on here?" Derek spun around to face and angry Sarah Connor. This was not good.

Sarah and Cameron had tracked down Andy Goode's apartment to see in he had any files lying around about he and the Russian's dealing. All that they had found was a piece of paper with his name and some random numbers, nothing overly useful.

As the women and terminator walked up to the house they could hear loud voices coming from the inside. It sounded like an argument. Sarah quietly unlocked the door and slowly stepped in. Derek was towering over a nervous looking John looking frustrated.

"…How do you know Kyle?"

"What the heck is going on here?" Derek turned around to face her, a guilty look on his face. Sarah silently chided herself for leaving John alone with the man. She knew he would be fishing for answers about his brother but she had wanted time to figure out what to say to him before he asked again. Thinking about Kyle put a strain on her already tight emotions and she needed to keep it together.

"Care to explain what's going on?" Derek had stepped away from the table, his arms up in a sign of peace.

"At the jail you asked me about my brother." Derek said. "I saw that look on your face when I said his name. Now I know you know him and I want to know how?"

Sarah looked at her son who had his own guilty look on his face. "He caught me hacking into some files on the Reese family." She looked at him sternly. "Sorry OK?" Sarah could feel a dull pain start in her temple.

"So?" Derek looked at her expectedly. "How about it?"

"Why don't you get some rest Reese, You don't look so good."

"Do you Connors ever give a straight answer?" Derek asked exasperated. Sarah wouldn't look at him in the eye.

"Reese, I just…"

"Mom, just tell him." John had that pleading look in his eyes. She knew she had lost already. At least when he knows the truth John would be able to have a real uncle, and not some piece of metal with a synthetic covering. That didn't make what she was about to do any easier though.

Sarah took a deep breath. "Why don't we all sit down, Cameron you too. We may need you before the end." The metal teenager nodded as they all sat around the table, Sarah making sure that the Tin Miss and Soldier were on opposite ends from each other. "First off I think introductions are an order. John, this is Derek Reese; a resistance fighter from the future." The older man nodded and Sarah continued. "Derek, I'd like you to meet John Connor; future leader of the resistance and… your nephew."

A/N: So there's another chapter up, hope you enjoyed. Now just press the blue button below and leave a review!


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